FareShare announces new £5m funding to divert more food from landfill

Food waste charity FareShare has been awarded £5 million of National Lottery funding.

It predicts it will now be able to divert more than 25,000 tonnes of edible food going to landfill and provide 62 million more meals a year during the three years of the grant.

FareShare will now be undertaking a UK volunteer recruitment drive which aims to increase the number of volunteers to over 1,000.

The money, raised by National Lottery players for good causes, is the largest funder of community activity in the UK.

Linsday Boswell, FareShare chief executive, said: “The groups we support are under enormous strain. This funding will really help us work with more companies to access their surplus stocks, reduce food waste and improve the lives of millions of people through good food – all powered by the creation of hundreds of new volunteering opportunities.”

FareShare delivered surplus food to almost 7,000 charities and community groups last year.